CIA Director William Burns visited Ukraine in early October to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials.
This was reported by the American TV channel CNN with reference to two sources who knew about the trip.
“While there, he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, including continued intelligence sharing,” a U.S. official told CNN.
The sources declined to provide details about the trip.
CNN writes that Burnsʼ trip is connected to the fact that the United States is increasingly concerned that “Russia may resort to nuclear weapons in its difficult war”. Burns and other US officials have said publicly that they see no evidence that Moscow is actively preparing for such a move, but officials familiar with the intelligence have warned that the risk may be the highest since Russia invaded in February.
- In January 2022, on the eve of a full-scale Russian invasion, Burns also secretly traveled to Ukraine and met with Zelensky.